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Day 4, Photo Blog of aging a neutral spirit on WHISKY STIKs and  FLAVOUR STIKs

Whiskey aging quietly at home, day 4 now and not much change from yesterday, small bottle looks to be a shade darker.

Oak has been used for centuries to age Whisky or Whiskey, with various nuances added by the cooper in toasting or charring the barrel to the distillers taste. The aging then takes years or decades. What we are trying to do here is hurry it along a bit. But aging is aging, once the desired colour and aroma is achieved it will still require a minimum of 3 months to a year to really show its potential. The small amount of spirit in the bottle has more wood contact than say in a 500 or so liter barrel and is able to pull out colour and some flavour a bit quicker.

In the short term a spirit aged on oak chips of WHISKY STIKs will make a great mixer in 3 weeks to a few months adding another level of aroma and taste to your favorite cocktail.

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Day 2 , Photo Blog of aging a neutral spirit on WHISKY STIKs and  FLAVOUR STIKs

Day 2 and 48hrs on the STIKs. The spirit in the 750ml bottle has almost taken twice as much colour on, will be testing aroma and flavour from the 5th day.

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Day 1 , Photo Blog of aging a neutral spirit on WHISKY STIKs and  FLAVOUR STIKs

Day 1 and 24hrs on the STIKS. The 750ml spirit is showing good colour as the bottle is wider and the colour can be seen better. I will test for aroma and taste about the 4th or 5th day. The small 150ml bottle has acquired colour but it is not as intense as the bottle is only 20mm thick.

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Photo Blog of aging a neutral spirit on WHISKY STIKs and  FLAVOUR STIKs

Day 1 16H00

To give an idea of how quickly spirit draws out the caramelized sugars in the STIKs as well as the other flavours (these are not as visual as the colour change obviously, but are most noticeable on the nose and palate) we are going to Photo blog a batch of neutral spirit, as it allows one to see the colour change best.

Stiks used:

1 WHISKY STIK American White Oak, Dark Toast in 150ml (15% of total batch)

In 750ml of spirit;

1 WHISKY STIK American White Oak, Dark Toast, Char with gas flame and water spray to extinguish.

1 FLAVOUR STIK Hickory Light Toast

1 FLAVOUR STIK Hickory Medium Toast